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On
Hydrogen Powered Car
2009-2010
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
PK SAXENA
PROFESSSOR
MNIT, JAIPUR
SYNOPSIS
Since prehistoric times, humans have used available
technologies for destructive and beneficial purposes. Aboriginal
use of curare and amphibian-derived toxins as arrow poisons
anticipated modern attempts to weaponize biological toxins such
as botulinum and ricin. The derivation of the modern term
“toxin” from the ancient Greek term for arrow poison, τωξικον
φαρμακον (toxicon pharmicon; toxin = bow,
arrow)1,2underscores the historical link between weaponry and
biological agents.
Multiple factors confound the study of the history of biological
weapons, including secrecy surrounding biological weapons
programs, difficulties confirming allegations of biological
attack, the lack of reliable microbiological and epidemiological
data regarding alleged or attempted attacks, and the use of
allegations of biological attack for propaganda and hoaxes.
Biological weapons have the potential to kill or incapacitate
very large numbers of people, or to do crippling economic
damage by killing crop plants or domestic animals. Historically,
the diseases that accompanied the armies of expanding empires
have been more effective tools of expansion than the armies
themselves. Given the proven effectiveness of the inadvertent
spread of disease and the potential effectiveness of deliberate
use, it is surprising that biological weapons (BW) have not been
more commonly used. Such use has occurred only a handful of
times. A number of additional allegations, some more plausible
than others, suggest that they may have been used somewhat
more frequently than can be documented. Nevertheless, their use
has clearly been quite rare relative to other categories of
warfare.
Despite the rarity of actual use of bioweapons, a number of
nations have had active programs of bioweapon development
during the past century, and some may continue today. The
probable existence of covert bioweapon programs in a highly
unstable world is alarming; certainly the historical reluctance to
use them provides scant basis for complacency. However, a
review of historical sources and recent events in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Great Britain, and the United States demonstrates
that interest in biological weapons by state-sponsored programs,
terrorist organizations, and criminal elements is likely to
continue.
The recent advances in our understanding of botulinum toxin
indicate not only the triumph of scholarly research but also the
emergence of a supreme irony. In probing the biology of this
molecule, investigators have discovered the toxin's mechanism
of action and grasped the significance of that action. As a result,
they have found that the molecule has the characteristics of not
only a poison but also a powerful therapeutic agent. It is ironic
that botulinum toxin, which is generally considered the most
poisonous of all poisons, may have more desirable than
undesirable qualities. It is highly efficacious medication that can
produce clinical benefits in patients with nerve and muscle
disorders. Interestingly, the underlying mechanism that causes
disease is the same mechanism that provides clinical benefits.
So it is up to mankind how the things are utilized – for good or
for bad.
Content
page no.
1. Certificate 1
2. Synopsis 2
3. List of figures
4. List of tables
5. Introduction
(i) History
(i) history
(i) history
5. Locomotive in India
Introduction
Hydrogen has received increased attention as a renewable and
environmentally-friendly option to help meet todayʼs energy needs. The
road leading to an understanding of hydrogenʼs energy potential presents
a fascinating tour through scientific discovery and industrial ingenuity.
History
1766 Hydrogen was first identified as a distinct element by British
scientist Henry Cavendish after he evolved hydrogen gas by
reacting zinc metal with hydrochloric acid. In a demonstration to
the Royal Society of London, Cavendish applied a spark to
hydrogen gas yielding water. This discovery led to his later finding
that water (H2O) is made of hydrogen and oxygen.
1838 The fuel cell effect, combining hydrogen and oxygen gases to
produce water and an electric current, was discovered by Swiss
chemist Christian Friedrich Schoenbein.
1889 Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer attempted to build the first fuel
cell device using air and industrial coal gas. They named the
device a fuel cell.
1958 The United States formed the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). NASAʼs space program currently uses
the most liquid hydrogen worldwide, primarily for rocket
propulsion and as a fuel for fuel cells.
1997 Retired NASA engineer, Addison Bain, challenged the belief that
hydrogen caused the Hindenburg accident. The hydrogen, Bain
demonstrated, did not cause the catastrophic fire but rather the
combination of static electricity and highly flammable material on
the skin of the airship. German car manufacturer Daimler-Benz
and Ballard Power Systems announced a $300-million research
collaboration on hydrogen fuel cells for transportation.
Hydrogen fuel is fed into the "anode" of the fuel cell. Oxygen (or air)
enters the fuel cell through the cathode. Encouraged by a catalyst, the
hydrogen atom splits into a proton and an electron, which take different
paths to the cathode. The proton passes through the electrolyte. The
electrons create a separate current that can be utilized before they return
to the cathode, to be reunited with the hydrogen and oxygen in a
molecule of water.
A fuel cell system which includes a "fuel reformer" can utilize the
hydrogen from any hydrocarbon fuel - from natural gas to methanol, and
even gasoline. Since the fuel cell relies on chemistry and not
combustion, emissions from this type of a system would still be much
smaller than emissions from the cleanest fuel combustion processes.
WORLD’S SCENARIO
Paper Abstract
This paper reports the results from a project funded by the Tyndall Centre for
Climate Change Research exploring the Hydrogen Energy Economy and its long-
term role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This paper focuses on fuel
consumption from the transport sector to 2050, which is directly related to carbon
dioxide emissions. The transport sector accounts for approximately 26% of carbon
dioxide emissions in the UK and it is the only sector where emissions are
increasing. It is becoming ever more important to develop strategies towards
reducing emissions from transport in order to move towards the deep cuts in
emissions of 60% by 2050 that are increasingly recognised to be necessary. The
development of a hydrogen energy economy has been proposed as a way of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which will involve the development and
widespread adoption of hydrogen as a fuel. This paper explores the degree to
which hydrogen powered vehicles could play a major role in the UK transport
sector and the potential impact on carbon dioxide emissions under a range of future
scenarios to 2050.
For rail, air and water sectors, the required inputs are the levels of different types
of activity (by different vehicle types) for all the years up to 2050. These were
combined with fuel consumption factors to predict total fuel consumed (by fuel type) for
every year up to 2050. The road sector is the major source of emissions and so a more
sophisticated approach was used. This involved basic modelling of the vehicle fleet (stock
turnover for a wide variety of different vehicle types) and the use of sophisticated fuel
consumption equations that take into account vehicle speeds on three different road types.
Simplified input procedures allow the model to be run in a few seconds (once the relatively
simple input data has been prepared).
In developing the potential pathways to 2050 the extent to which hydrogen powered vehicles
might be adopted was considered and the scenarios vary in terms of when and how widely
hydrogen powered vehicles might penetrate the transport sector. The scenarios used have been
widely adopted for forecasting purposes and represent four possible directions of development
up to 2050. They are defined around two different dimensions for possible future development,
values (which can tend towards either consumerism or community) and governance
(regionalisation or globalisation). Divergent development in these two dimensions produces four
qualitatively different future scenarios. These comprise: world markets, global sustainability,
provincial enterprise and local stewardship. In addition to these scenarios a “best guess’ forecast
was also created based on extensions of existing forecasts. A wide range of possible levels of
hydrogen in transport emerge as probable under different scenarios, from 5% in world markets to
a near total market share under global sustainability.
The model development stage has been completed and the “best guess’ scenario runs undertaken.
Despite the complex nature of the road model’s calculations of fuel consumed it actually
produces figures for total fuel consumed which agree fairly closely with the known consumption
of petrol and diesel fuel in the road transport sector for 2002 (about 5-7% difference). An
optimistic “best guess’ assumes that the voluntary agreement with car manufacturers delivers a
25% reduction in emissions from new vehicles by 2008 (from 1995) and that a further agreement
is reached for an additional 30% reduction by 2020. The forecast under this scenario suggests
that consumption of petrol will fall over the next 25 years and then increases as traffic growth
outweighs earlier efficiency gains. Consumption of diesel rises over the entire period because of
growth in heavy goods vehicle traffic coupled with the fact that no significant improvement in
individual HGV fuel consumption was assumed.
Detailed assumptions based on the other four scenarios have been developed which are being
used to provide the quantitative data inputs necessary for the UK transport model from the year
2003 to 2050. These will then be used iteratively to see if they could be made to match the total
energy and hydrogen consumption estimates for 2050. The results from the model runs of the
various scenarios will be discussed at a key stakeholder meeting in March 2004. The final report
of the project will be submitted in April 2004. The results from the “best guess’ and the other
scenario runs will be reported and will give an insight into the practicality of the different
pathways and the nature and chronology of developments crucial to the endpoints in order to
inform the policy debate.
USA’s SCENARIO:-
The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and pollution-free,”
declared former US president George W. Bush in 2003, as he announced a US$1.2-billion
hydrogen-fuel initiative to develop commercial fuel-cell vehicles by 2020. The idea was
appealing. Ties to foreign oil fields would be severed, and nothing but water vapour would
emerge from such a vehicle’s exhaust pipe. Congress duly approved the money, and the
Department of Energy and other research agencies got to work. But then the whole effort faded
into obscurity, as attention shifted first to biofuels and then to battery-powered electric vehicles.
Both seemed to offer much quicker and cheaper routes to low-carbon transportation. The shift
seemed complete when the US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu entered office last year. Chu
outlined four primary pitfalls with the hydrogen initiative. Car manufacturers still needed a fuel
cell that was sturdy, durable and cheap, as well as a way to store enough hydrogen on board to
allow for longdistance travel. Hydrogen also required a new distribution infrastructure, and even
then the greenhouse-gas benefits would be marginal until someone worked out a cost-effective
way to make hydrogen from low-carbon energy sources rather than natural gas. Last May, four
months after being sworn in, Chu announced that the government would cut research into fuel-
cell vehicles in his first Department of Energy budget. Biofuels and batteries, he said, are “a
much better place to put our money”.
On-board storage
In June 2009, Toyota engineers and US government monitors hopped into a pair of fuel-cell
Highlanders at the company’s US headquarters in Torrance and took a 533-kilometre round
trip through real-world traffic — without refuelling. Calculations suggest that the vehicles’
performances corresponded to a range of 693 kilometres on a single tank of hydrogen,
which is on a par with the range of current petrol vehicles. Ten years ago, this feat also would
have seemed daunting. Gaseous hydrogen is easy enough to store in a tank. But getting enough
of it on board would require either a ridiculously large tank that would eliminate space
for people, groceries and camping gear, or an exceptionally strong tank that could safely store
compressed hydrogen gas at hundreds of times atmospheric pressure. Liquid hydrogen is much
denser, but it would have to be maintained in an insulated tank at −253 °C, which would add to a
vehicle’s weight, complexity and expense. In the end, the comparative simplicity of compressed
hydrogen won out. Most companies have chosen to use modern carbon-fibre tanks, which can
store hydrogen at up to 680 atmospheres, while still being relatively lightweight. To improve
range further, many companies are also equipping their vehicles with the same ‘regenerative
braking’ technology that allows hybrid petrol and electric cars and all-electric cars to capture
energy during braking, store it in auxiliary batteries, and reuse it for later acceleration.
Indeed, because hydrogen and battery powered vehicles both use electric motors, they share
many technologies. The only real difference is the power source: fuel cells versus batteries. Scott
says that electric vehicles based on the lithium-ion battery chemistry are unlikely to get beyond
arrange of 150–250 kilometres on a single charge. And although that may be enough to cover
urban driving, consumers like having the option to drive cross-country. So in the shift away from
petrol, the hydrogen vehicle’s greater range could give it an edge in the long term.